Silverlings
by BangstaXELF
Summary: Gray was abused. Lyon wanted revenge. Natsu became an orphan overnight. Sting lost his brother. Jellal and Loke just gave up on the world. The guys wanted an escape and they found it in the form of a flower, Silverling-Delphinium. Inspired from Monsta X's 'All In'. AU. Trigger warnings! Mentions of suicide, abuse and death.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Beta-ed thanks to WelcomeToTheAnimeParade~!**

 **Recommendation: I don't usually do this but seriously guys, to get the right feel just try to listening to the 'All In' track by Monsta X.**

 **Prologue**

 _ **~12**_ _ **th**_ _ **January XX20; 14:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~Location Unknown~**_

"Guys look carefully! He must be around somewhere!"

The snow fell from the dreary skies like pillows of soft feathers.

The decaying ruins were covered with a light blanket of the white snow, more falling to join it.

"GRAY! GRAY, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Four guys were running around, searching for their lost member.

"Gray!"

The once lazily falling snow was now picking up speed.

"Let's split, we will be able to find him faster this way," Jellal suggested. He had a rag pressed onto his forehead, trying to staunch the bleeding. The other three were in no better shape too.

"That's good, so Natsu and I will head towards the broken go-downs, Lyon can search the rusting shacks while Jellal can search in this area," Loke suggested, looking at others for confirmation which came in the form of simultaneous nods, "Alright, let's head out!"

The snow fall was gradually turning into a blizzard.

Lyon was skimming through the rubble when his eyes spotted a familiar necklace. His eyes widened in shock as the body fully came into his sight.

"G-Gr…ay…?"

The wind picked up speed.

But the body didn't seem to be breathing at all.

 **TBC**

 **Oookkkaaayyy, I just watched Monsta X's 'All In' MV and just…WOW! Minhyuk and Hyungwon's acting completely rendered me speechless and that where this baby started developing! I have been watching this MV and listening to the song continuously for 10 hours now and I can still go another 10~ XD**

 **The next 2 chappies for this are ready~ Inside Me's next chappie is halfway done too~**

 **Comments are appreciated! Don't forget to pitch in something for the lovely beta too~!**


	2. Free Really?

**Okay guys, chappie 1~**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Free…Really?**

 _ **~ 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **January XX20; Noon~**_

 _ **~Delphinium Sub-urbs~**_

"What did we tell you about removing this useless rubbish from here!?" one of the officers roared.

The old couple who owned the little shoe stall begged for forgiveness, pleading that it was their only source of sustaining themselves but it all fell on deaf ears.

"Remove this right now or we are going to take all of this under the govt.'s possession!"

The gun men had their guns pointed on the fumbling couple.

"Hey~ How could you begin all the fun without me?" a strawberry blonde teen skipped his way towards the men. Soon he found himself to be on gunpoint as well, "Yikes! This looks pretty dangerous, ne?" he asked, playfully pointing the barrel towards his capped head, "does it shoot?"

"Of course not. They are just underdogs, never gonna bite without their master's command," another guy entered the scene. His untamed raven hair were practically defying gravity. He sassily came and sat down on the table, facing the gunmen with a smirk, "Now Mister, what were you talking about just now? Removing this little stall?" he questioned, cocking his right brow.

"And who are you brat? It's none of your business so don't meddle in!"

The raven haired guy shot a look to his buddy which was returned by a wink.

"Aunty! Do you want these men to remove your stall?" the strawberry blonde asked the blonde women, handing her a hanky in processing.

"Of course not! This-this is our on-only source of i-income!" the old women cried out, weeping uncontrollably.

"Soooo, do you want our help?" The capped guy asked, sending a teasing look towards the men clad in black.

"Re-really son?"

"Yep!"

The strawberry blonde sent a thumbs-up towards the awaiting raven.

"We just made it our business. Now," he began, standing up and fishing for something in his pocket.

The men raised their guard, expecting it to be some kind of a weapon.

"Oh! Don't worry, we aren't gonna resort to bloody violence… _yet_."

The strawberry blonde had already started shooing the men away, playing with their guns.

The raven took out a silver-blue flower from his pocket and stepped closer to the main guy. He pushed the gun pointed at him away, "No need to be scared, fucking sissy."

The man could only seethe in anger.

"Now, mister whoever you are I don't care. Kindly fuck off and never bother them anymore. Their business is now our business so don't even try to touch them or the consequences are NOT gonna be _nice_. Shoo!" he growled out but a smile was still present on his face. He tucked the flower into the man's gun before turning away, "Wish that you will never meet us again!"

The man seriously wanted to shoot the two fuckers down but his orders didn't allow him to, he was helpless.

"Oh by the way, I am Gray Fullbuster! Better not forget. Bye!" the raven yelled from where he was going.

His companion also turned around, "I am Loke! It was not nice to meet you fake-gun-people!"

And the two went away.

 _ **~17:25 hr.~**_

 _ **~Silverlings Headquarters (under bridge)~**_

"Hey guys look! That cloud looks like a dragon!" Sting chirped, jumping up and down on the empty barrel.

Jellal and Lyon were lazing around, talking about nothing in particular. Natsu and Gray were having a competition on who could jump higher while Loke acted as the referee.

"Okay! This time Natsu jumped higher!"

"Hey! He cheated by stepping on to that rock and increasing his height!" Gray objected, pointing towards a pebble that in no way looked to be the size of a rock.

"I didn't! You are just a loser so suck it up!"

"No! You are a cheater!"

"Am not!"

"You are!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes! See, you just admitted it yourself! Ha!"

"Tch, I thought I had him fooled." Natsu grumbled under his breath, kicking the poor pebble.

"Hey!" a new voice filtered through. Everyone diverted their attention towards the small group of men.

Gray gulped inwardly, _'Shoot! Am dead!'_

Everyone shot meaningful glances towards the raven head who was busy diverting his gaze away from the detestable men.

"Yes?" Jellal questioned the men, taking charge as the leader.

"Who was the one who meddled in the removing of that rubbish stall today?"

Loke looked at the other. He was going to stand up but Gray was faster.

"It was me, I stopped them." he said confidently. His gaze never left the man coming to stand in front of him. He knew a stream of harsh words was sure to come from his mouth.

Smack!

His left cheek was burning with pain, he could already feel a bruise coming along.

"I should've known it was you…Of course! Who else would try to be a meddlesome fuck other than you!?" The man yelled, shaking him by his collar.

Lyon looked on the scene, staying motionless. He knew meddling was only going to make the situation worse. But it couldn't stop him from glaring at the balding man who was treating his friend as some kind of rag doll.

"Why do you think it is funny to stain my name by being your useless meddlesome self!?"

Jellal was looking away, trying to hold himself back from mauling the goddamned piece of shit.

"I had told you to leave these rebels but you refused! You fought with ME for these pitiful fuckers! And now look at where you've landed yourself! You are even worse than them! What do you think you pitiful scum are gonna get by going against the state, huh!?"

Natsu silently looked on at the scene with Sting holding onto his hand tightly, "Don't even try Natsu, you are gonna end up making it worse."

So he just looked on.

The man continued to yell at the raven head but nobody did anything.

The pink head was soon reaching his breaking point. And he did reach it when the man decided that treating the other like a punching bag would get his words through the other's head.

Bad idea.

"YAH! Stop it you damned old man!" he yelled, freeing himself and running over to punch the man. Lyon grabbed the raven's hand and pulled him away, checking over for any serious injuries.

"Natsu!" Sting yelled but the other didn't stop.

The teen and the man continued punching and kicking like wild animals.

It wasn't until Loke and Jellal had decided to drag the raging guy off the man themselves that Natsu's fists stopped. But his anger didn't.

"Don't you dare even lay a finger on him again or I-" he was cut off by a voice.

"We," Lyon growled silently but it was heard clearly over the pin-drop silence, "or we are gonna kill you. Remember that."

It remained silent for another few seconds until the man decided to speak up, "I want you to be home in an hour. Hear me? Not even a minute late."

And they went away.

"Gray?"

"It's nothing new Jello," He muttered, _'But doesn't mean that it hurts any less. Ow, that old fart can sure hit well.'_

"I am alright guys, don't be so quiet, it's making me feel awkward."

Sting wasn't having any of his bullshit anymore.

He went over and hit the other right over his head, "Don't you dare speak of it as it was nothing." he mumbled, his fists shaking by his sides. He was having a bad feeling of déjà vu from all this.

"But really Sting, it's nothing! I am used to it!"

"How could you Gray? How could you?" the blonde nearly cried.

"Could what?" Gray was thoroughly and utterly confused.

"How could you not fight back? How could you regard it as if it is nothing!? I mean, if this was how he treated you in front of ALL of us then I can't even imagine what you go through at your fucking house ALONE with that demon!?"

The raven head remained silent.

"Oh god Gray! Why don't you just fucking report that damned man?" The blonde felt tired from all this arguing.

"Uh…he himself is the state minister, remember? One of the leaders of the damned Scorpions?" Loke piped in.

"Fuck."

They remained silent for a few moments, thinking the situation over.

"I'm going," Gray said after a few, breaking the silence.

By now Natsu had calmed down somewhat, sitting in the corner with his cats. Jellal and Lyon were just being silent and seemed to be making one of their master-killer-plans again.

Before Gray could exit Sting held him back by grabbing his arm, "Don't. Can't you just stay here with Loks and me?"

"Leave me Sting, I don't wanna be late." Gray demanded tiredly.

"Don't repeat the same mistake I made, please Gray."

Gray stopped trying to pull his arm away from the other's grip. The others were also now starting to pay attention.

"Gray I lost Rogue in a similar manner. We thought the same way you do now and in the end he lost his life at the hands of that hellhound. Please don't repeat what we did back then, it's going to lead you to your own demise Gray, please."

"See ya."

 _ **~6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January XX20; 15:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~Gray's place.~**_

Everything was strewn here and there. Many things lay broken and where they weren't supposed to be. In amidst of it sat a boy with a white hat-mask covering his whole face, hugging his knees close to his chest.

The door to his room was thrown open and a panting albino stepped inside, "Gray? You…alright?" he questioned, making his way towards the other. He sat down on the floor next to him and frowned at the material obstructing his friend's face.

"Why are you wearing this?" he questioned, trying to remove their clan's symbolizing mask but the other bent away.

"Stop!"

"Gray? Let me see."

"N-no…you will get angry."

Lyon's frown deepened when the other evaded his touch again. "Gray, let me or I am going to call Sting and he's gonna have a fucking bitch fest ranting at you. You want that?"

"No but…" the raven seemed to contemplating his options. In the end, he gave up.

He always did.

Like the useless being he was.

"Okay."

Lyon removed the mask and stared at the bruised and swelling face of the other.

Gray looked onto the ground, not even daring to make eye-contact.

"Gray, _look up_."

He did.

Lyon held his face gingerly and gently tugged it to side, revealing that the bruises went all the way under his turtle neck.

"You know what Lyon, I fought back," Gray said with a smile.

"You did? And ended up like this!?" the albino roared, standing up, "You call _this_ fighting the bloody hell back!?"

Gray was silent. He suddenly felt guilty.

"But I did…and you know what…"

"What!?"

"…I won."

Lyon crouched down to be at eye level with the other. The other was still not looking at him directly, "Gray."

The raven head looked up, his eyes misty.

"He disowned me…I am finally free…"

Lyon stood up, staring at the other, shocked. He never expected the man to do what he did.

"But it hurts…"

 _'Of course.'_ Lyon thought angrily. Abusive or not, that retarded man was still his friend's father, the only blood relation he had left.

"Lyon…Did I do the right thing?"

The raven head was going hysterical.

Lyon resolutely got up and headed out, ignoring the other calling for him.

 _'Gotta destroy that man, gotta make him feel desperate, gotta avenge.'_

 **TBC**

 **Sorry for the slight mistakes.**

 **The storyline might seem slightly messy as I am still trying to find a better way to write everything along a definite timeline. So kindly pay attention to the dates~!**

 **Beta-ed by WelcomeToTheAnimeParade~**

 **Hope you liked it!**

 **Thanks to the awesome followers, fav-ers and reviewers! Love ya all!**

 **Comments are appreciated~**


	3. How We Came To Be

**Un-betaed. I don't own anything. End of the story. XD**

 **Kindly become a MonBebe, thank you.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **How We Came To Be**

 _ **~23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **November XX16; 17:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~In the streets of Delphinium~**_

Two boys were walking through the streets of Delphinium aimlessly.

"And you know there is this huge ass under bridge Natsu found that is near the forest! Just at the ideal location! And there is this small building nearby too! Loks said it was abandoned years ago as the people thought the forest's curse had affected it too! That's just ridiculous right!?"

Gray continued rambling on and on about the new 'clan' he and his friends were making.

Lyon, the new kid in town, kept listening without interrupting the other.

Soon they were reaching a river bank that, surprisingly, was still void of any ice.

"Wow. How come the water isn't frozen?" Lyon questioned curiously. On their way they had encountered many frozen puddles and even a frozen lake that was way bigger than this river flowing out of the forest yet it remained unfrozen.

"Wanna know?" Gray questioned with a teasing smirk.

"Why not?"

"Then follow me! But," the raven stared at the other with a hardened gaze before continuing in a serious tone. "You will have to keep it an absolute secret, you will have to become a member of our clan, only then can I trust you with this."

"Uhhh…" Lyon didn't have any idea how to respond to that.

"Will it be…uh…dangerous…to be a member?"

"Of course! After all we _are_ fighting for our freedom from those high assed military dudes! It's gonna be dangerous!" Gray shot out in a 'duh' manner, just a tad bit forceful.

"Then count me in!"

"Huh? Really!?"

"Yep! I just looove adventures!"

"Yehet! Then let's go!" Gray cheered, running in the direction of the city.

Lyon was confused. "Hey! Gray! What about the river's secret?"

"Become a clansman first! Then I promise I will take you!"

Lyon could only look dejectedly at the slowly flowing river. "Fine…"

 _ **~ 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **November XX16; 23:58 hrs.~**_

 _ **~An abandoned warehouse near the under bridge~**_

A group of young boys, probably aged between 13 and 15, was standing around a small altar with a burning flame. Their faces were covered in weird colorful markings as the blue smoke emitting from a cauldron placed above the flames spread in all directions.

"Guys! I brought a new recruit!" Gray yelled from the warehouse's entrance, pulling in Lyon behind him.

Lyon, to put simply, was baffled. He wondered if he was even doing the right thing because frankly all this ritual thingie looked like some demonic worshipping or something.

"Uhh…hi?" he uttered dumbly.

One of the guys, who seemed to be leading the weird ritual thingie beckoned them inside. "Come quickly, we were gonna start without you! Oh and hello to you too new buddy!" He pointed towards a blue haired guy and continued, "Come over, Jellal will help you through."

The two stepped inside, one already knowing what was happening while the other took wary steps towards the blue cloud of smoke.

They stood along with the others.

"Hey! What's your name?" a jumpy blonde questioned the albino.

"Lyon." He replied shortly, still pretty freaked out.

"Okay Lyon," the blue haired guy began, pointing paint covered finger at him, "Let's make you one of us!"

And soon Lyon felt the other guy's finger gliding over his face, leaving damp marks in their wake. To be honest, it felt really weird to be drawn on.

By the time his face was done the others had already sat down surrounding the fire.

"Done!" Jellal exclaimed, putting away his supplies.

"But why do you guys do this paint on the face thing?" he questioned looking at the others' painted faces.

The strawberry blonde, the one conducting the ritual, decided to answer. "It signifies the struggles we had to go through, our reason to form and join this clan. If we know about each other's darkest secret, our main weaknesses, then nothing can stop us from being one yada yada yada! And it's fun!"

It went above his head but Lyon nodded anyways. But then another question prodded at his mind.

"Don't fret, you will get your unique mark once you acknowledge your darkest secret." Gray piped up, knowing what was going on the other's mind. And well Sting had asked the same question when he had joined.

"Ladies we need to begin," Natsu interrupted.

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot!" Loke exclaimed.

Soon everyone had some kind of a blue liquid in their hands, in a cup of course. The liquid barely filled one-fourth of the cup though.

"Are we supposed to drink it?" Lyon questioned.

"Yes, of course! Were you gonna have a shower with it?" Sting commented, laughing.

"Hey!...But it looks weird…"

"Don't worry, it's gonna heal you from inside out." Jellal provided.

"Yeah, just let lose yourself!"

"If you say so…"

In one big gulp everyone had downed the liquid.

Lyon felt weird. It felt as if his mind was emptying all its contents, leaving behind a blissful emptiness. It felt fuzzy and bleary but it was nice, _really nice._

" _We take the oath as the members of the-not-yet-named-clan by swearing on our lives that we will…"_ Loke began, leading the others. All of them seemed to be lost to the world, in their own little free world, temporarily free of the world's merciless clutches.

" _One. Protect our clansmen, our only family, with everything we have got."_ Jellal continued, his eyes closing.

" _Two. Support each other, never leave anyone alone, will go through our pains together."_ Gray carried on.

" _Three. Never forget the value of a life, never unreasonably harm someone, never be biased."_ Sting worded out, looking at the blue smoke filling his vision.

" _Four. Never be subdued by the evil Scorpions, will fight back with our strength not alone but as one._ " Natsu muttered.

Now all the eyes focused on the new guy.

" _Five. Never betray and be loyal to the ones who are loyal to us."_ Lyon said, receiving okay signs from the other.

" _To be as one, we will protect our clan as if it was our own blood."_

 **~25** **th** **November XX16; 16:30 hrs.~**

 **~Delphinium Forest~**

"So these are the mysterious Silverling Delphiniums. Are they the reason the river is still flowing?" Lyon questioned, twirling a small branch of the beautiful flowers.

Loke nodded in confirmation, "They have special healing abilities but if ingested a lot they can be lethal too," He had been studying these flowers since the time Natsu had discovered them. "And well scorpions hate them too, so two birds with one stone!"

"Ohhhh, so _that's_ why you guys call the military guys 'Scorpions'!" Lyon had his moment of enlightenment.

Jellal chuckled lightly at this, after all it has been his idea to call them that, especially since they wore black clothes and such. "But don't tell anybody about them. If they fall in wrong hands then we don't even want to imagine what might happen." he warned him seriously, delicately plucking a few in his hands.

The four of them wandered around the bushes laced with the blue flowers, searching for their desired silver-blue ones.

"GUYSS!" a shout rang out through the surroundings.

"Sting?" Loke worded out, confused. "Wasn't he just here?"

"Of course not, he and Gray went ahead to search for some more bushes. Didn't you notice their absence before?"

"COME QUICKLY!"

The four shared a look before running in the direction the voice was coming from. Walking through the foliage, they soon found themselves in front of an empty and wrecked warehouse with a logo painted on it.

"Scorpion's logo?"

"Hey! Look what we found!" Sting's voice came from inside.

They went inside and found the two sitting on the ground with something shiny in their hands.

"Guns?" Natsu questioned, making his way over to them.

"Yeah! Aren't they cool!?" Gray questioned, fiddling around with one.

"Gosh they are! Can I have a look at them?" Jellal questioned, bouncing over to the crate filled with ammo and the platinum guns. Everyone knew how much of gun fanatic he was so they weren't bothered much, save for one.

"Why is he acting like a kid high on sugar?" Lyon questioned to the person on his side which happened to be their resident I-wear-shades-every-goddamn-minute-got-a-prob? Guy aka Loke.

"Long story short, Jello LOVES guns."

"Oh."

"Yep."

"Guys just look at these beauties! I say we adopt them!" Jellal announced, literally hugging the fine pieces of perfection.

"Me too!" Sting joined.

"Me three!" Loke too.

"But do you guys really know how to use one?" Lyon questioned.

"Of course not!" Came the expected reply. "But Jello can teach us, right?"

"Yep!"

"Then what are you waiting for," Loke said, dragging the crate behind him. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's make our mission a success!"

And the little clan went to their hide-out, dragging a crate of platinum weapons with them.

 _ **~ 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **November XX16; 14:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~An abandoned warehouse near the under bridge~**_

The six kids were lazing around on the weathered couches they had found dumped nearby and dragged into their headquarters. All of them were tucked inside warm comforters since it was bone-chilling cold and the useless walls of the rotting building didn't provide any kind of insulation.

"Guys," Gray began, "Shouldn't we make a logo or something like that for our clan? Like a flag or something?"

Sting immediately shot up, "Yeah! Let's do that today!"

Soon all of them were sitting, surrounded by random stationary that Loke provided.

"Seriously Loks? Did you just pull them out of your ass or something? 'cus this is just too much!" Natsu commented, looking at the various colored sharpies and papers.

Loke shot him a stinky eye, "Hey! Be thankful that I had them on me!"

"Can we begin?" Jellal asked tiredly, before adding as an afterthought, "Forget it, let's begin anyway. Any suggestions for the name?"

A hand immediately shot up.

"Yes Natsu," he motioned for the other to speak.

"Natsu and minions!"

"Yah!" "Hey!" "Never ever!" "Yuck!"

"Hey! What's wrong with that!?" Natsu defended, earning a smack.

"If there is nothing wrong with that then there is nothing right with that sucky name either! In fact, there is EVERYTHING wrong with that!" Gray retorted, punching the other's arm for good measure.

"Another suggestion?"

A hand shot up again.

Sigh.

"Natsu,"

"Natsu and buddies!"

"YAH! Shut up!"

"Any other name?"

A hand shot up, yet again.

But he was blatantly ignored.

Then another hand poked up.

"Yes Sting?"

"Clan of buddies!"

"Uh…" "Fyi, we aren't making a kindergarten playtime group." "Maybe...?" "HA! My names were wwwaaay better!"

"Sorry Sting, any other?"

"Me!" Loke piped over the ruckus.

"Yes?"

"Silverling!" Loke stated. "And as for the logo, we can just use the flower as our sign or something!"

"But that doesn't seem intimidating…at all." "I like that!" "Me too!" "Psshh! Mine were better!"

"Okay! It's decided! From today on we will be called…"

"CLAN SILVERLING! MWAHAHAHA!"

.

.

.

"Who was the weird laughter one?"

"No damn idea."

 **TBC**

 **Filler-ish chappie, I know. Just had to get this out so I can make some things clear beforehand. Crappy? I know. Tried my best people! Vacations are soon ending (NOOOOOOOO!) and I want this ficcie to be complete before they do so I can concentrate on my studies…yay.**

 **Warning, spazzing ahead. (I can't help myself, sorry.)**

 **Ooookkaaayyy! I found a new MV to spazz on! It's MAP6's 'Swagger'! Gosh I love those guys, too!**

 **Kindly listen to 'All In' by Monsta X and be charmed by their charms so I can yap about them with you. (Minhyuk is Jack Frost in disguise I SWEAR! I mean even their PERSONALITIES MATCH! GOSH! I CAN'T BREATHE!)**

 **And if anyone of you have already watched the MV (probably not) then a heads up, the ffaaaammmmooouuuusss bathtub scene is coming up! EEEEPPPPP! Hyunghyuk feels eruption! OMGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEE! CPR! GOOOSSSHHHHHH!**

 **Reviews are much appreciated~!**

 **Shout out to all those lovely people who read, fav, follow or/and review! You guys are the best!**

 **(Un-betaed…Got to know my poor beta's exams are arriving, don't want to disturb her…GOOD LUCK MY DARLING! DO YOUR BEST! (P.S. Don't forget to PM me when they are over~!) So all mistakes and clumsiness is mine and mine alone! Sorry peeps!)**


	4. On the Way to Destruction?

**Warning: Shit ahead, read on your own risk.**

 **Un-betaed.**

 **Chapter 3**

 **On the Way to Destruction?**

 _ **~6**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, XX20; 20:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~Natsu's House~**_

Natsu sat in a bland room which had nothing except for a single hospital bed, a light and some hospital machines and stuff he didn't care about.

On that single bed laid a man with stark red hair, his breathing shallow.

Natsu held the weak hand of the man in his own calloused one, "I am gonna heal you dad, hang in there for me, I promise."

Of course he had tried giving him the flower but for reasons unknown to him it had no effect. So he had to resort to the normal treatment but to top it all off, now he had no resources whatsoever to carry on with the hospital's bills.

Instinctively his gaze fell on the white mask sitting on the side table. It was something akin to a creamy white hat or something with holes cut through it, it signified their rebellion against the black wearing scorpions. It was a symbol of their clan and a way to hide their identity till they knew they were capable enough to be themselves even on the battlefield.

Now that he looked at it, only a single thought pounded on the inside of his skull.

But it was the only thing he could do right now to aid his father who had single-handedly raised him through ups-and-downs.

' _I have no other choice dad, I am really very sorry.'_

He called up Loke.

" _Hey Nat! What's up?"_

"Loks, I need your help in something."

" _Ooookay, but what do you need my help in exactly? Something fun?"_

' _For dad, Natsu, for dad.'_

"I need some quick money."

 _ **~20:15 hrs.~**_

 _ **~Silverling Headquarters (Under bridge)**_

"Guys, Nat says he immediately needs some cash, wanna rob some place, any ideas?" Loke questioned the 3 currently drinking hot chocolate with some Delphinium petals.

Something dinged in Lyon's mind right then.

"I have one, a really dang good one."

 _ **~21:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~In an alley near a govt. bank~**_

"I can't believe I am doing this," Natsu mumbled, holding the cloth wrapped gun in his hands.

Loke smiled, he was always the one for these kinda things. "It's killing three birds with one stone dude! Don't lose your resolve now!" he said, pulling down his mask to cover his face. "Ready?"

After what felt like an eternity of Natsu fidgeting around, he breathed deeply and finally pulled down his own mask.

.

.

.

"Ready."

 _ **~23:50 hrs.~**_

 _ **~Delphinium Govt. Officials' Quarters~**_

"So this where all of the people's hard earned money goes, ne? Fucking greedy bitches," Jellal cursed, looking around at the beautifully built accommodations. "Lyon do you know where that bastard lives?" he questioned the albino, asking about Gray's used-to-be-father's new house.

Lyon nodded, his gaze hardened, "Just follow me, we will be there soon."

The two followed the other without any further query.

Soon they were in front of a single floored red roofed house. The lights were off, signifying that their target was sleeping.

"I heard they handle all their black business from here." Jellal informed them absentmindedly, pulling over his mask.

"Let's tell them who the real boss is," Lyon mumbled before facing the blonde, "Ready Sting?"

"Yep!"

And the blonde went around spraying their clan's insignia over the window glasses and walls of the house. Once it was done, he stepped back.

"All done!" he exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Soon the other two went around spilling gasoline over the wooden structure.

"Now they will know who not to mess with," Lyon growled out in anger, fishing in his pocket for something. He grinned when his fingers touched the cool metal body and he took it out.

Click.

The lighter was lit.

"Say goodbye~"

And Lyon threw the lighter at the front door, the structure immediately engulfing in scorching flames.

 _ **~7**_ _ **th**_ _ **January, XX20; 00:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~On the streets of Delphinium sub-urbs~**_

"Gosh I can't believe we did it!" Natsu yelled, catching the bag filled with money in his arms.

"Told ya those people were scaredy cats without their darned army there to protect them!"

Both were sprinting away at full-speed.

Suddenly Loke caught sight of something. He immediately stopped running.

Natsu, confused, stopped too. "What happened Loks?" he questioned.

"Look there Nat!" Loke said, pointing towards the billowing cloud of smoke in the night sky.

"They did it…" Natsu breathed out, smiling. "They did it!"

"Yes they did! That goddamned piece of shit is finally done for!"

And the two were squealing like high school girls asked on a date by their crushes.

After a while Loke spoke up, "Let's head to the warehouse for now, I am sure that the Scorpions are gonna be on high alert."

"Yep!"

And the two continued on their way, occasionally jumping in glee.

 _ **~01:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~The warehouse~**_

The five were lounging on the couches with their comforters protecting their bodies from the cold air.

"I can't wait to tell Gray that his fuckin personal Pitch Black finally is done for good," Loke mumbled from his spot on a weathered recliner.

"He isn't." Lyon replied lazily.

This caused the strawberry blonde and pinky to sit up straight.

"What!? Why!?"

"We saw some of those army guys pull the guy out of the burning inferno." Sting replied absentmindedly. After all the things that had taken place today, he felt effing tired.

Natsu was going to say something but Jellal stopped him.

"Our intention wasn't to kill him, not fully."

"Yeah," Lyon joined in, "We just wanted to show the man his damn place, and we did."

"But after what he did to Gray all these years…" Loke drawled on, looking at three for answers.

"It won't be fair if we let him die so easily, it won't be fair to Gray."

"Yeah, we need to make him feel desperate, scared, we need to make him feel like the useless scum he is." Lyon said in a matter-of-factly voice, yawning loudly at the end. "Sleep guys, we have much more to do tomorrow.

Begrudgingly Loke and Natsu lay down on their assigned 'beds' for tonight.

"G'night people."

 _ **~09:00 hrs.~**_

 _ **~?'? ?; Bathroom~**_

 _Drip,_

 _Drop,_

 _Drip,_

 _Drop._

Lyon sat beside the water filled bathtub, his head tucked in his hands, water falling from his eyes and into the small puddle on the tiled floor.

"For all we did…why this?" he mumbled hoarsely, his voice choking because of the lump in his throat.

.

.

.

" _Why?"_

 **TBC**

 **Hooooow was it? Felt rushy? Weird? Sorry.**

 **Kindly tell me about it in reviews~!**

 **BECOME A DAMN MONBEBE!**


	5. An Eye for a Life

**Beta-ed by the lovely and great WelcomeToTheAnimeParade~!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own anything!**

 **Chapter 4**

 **An Eye for a Life**

 ** _~7th January, XX20; 08:45 hrs.~_**

 ** _~Gray's place~_**

"Oi Gray! Where are you? I brought you some food! Yah!"

 _'Weird,'_ Lyon thought, placing the take-out on the table, "Gray!" he called out once again but there was no reply.

Frowning, he went inside and looked around the other's room. Everything was strewn here and there, just like the last time but this time he did notice some blotches of dried something. And he wished it wasn't what he thought.

But it was, as proved by a blade lying a few feet away, covered in that something.

 _'No.'_

"Gray! You shithead! Where are you!?"

 _Drip, Drop._

He immediately whipped around his head and found the door that lead to the bathroom.

 _'You better not…'_

 _Bang!_

He stepped inside the tiled room, his eyes immediately finding and locking onto the cream white bathtub.

Shock wasn't the word that did justice to what he felt.

 ** _~6th January, XX20; 16:00 hrs.~_**

 ** _~Gray's place~_**

"Beautiful…"

Red dripped from his mutilated wrists.

And he loved it.

Sound of feet tapping the floor resonated through the empty house.

"I-I…"

He entered the bathroom. His eyes felt heavy and he wanted to sleep.

"Wanna sleep…"

He turned off the tap once the tub was filled to the brim. He didn't know why but he wanted to sleep in the water and…never wake up.

"Sleepy…"

He was feeling way too tired to even undress so he stepped inside the water with his clothes still on.

"It's…too…much for…"

He slowly lowered down into the water, watching some of it spill out. A giggle (deranged) escaped out of his trembling lips. The way his blood colored the water red was funny.

"Me to…handle…I…"

He slowly lowered his head in the water. The water blocked any kind of sound from reaching into his ears. The only sounds he could hear were that of his heart beating and the yells resonating through his skull.

But both were soon dulling.

It was lovely.

Dying was lovely.

"Give up."

He was completely submerged. He didn't care when his lungs were throbbing with the lack of oxygen.

He needed to sleep, he wanted to sleep and he was going to sleep.

 ** _~7th January, XX20; 09:05 hrs.~_**

 ** _~Gray's place~_**

Lyon could only stare at the body lying motionless in the red tainted water. It was horrifically pale, almost as white as his hair.

He leaned against the wall, once flowing rivulets of tears were now just dry marks on his cheeks.

A pale blue vial was clutched in his hands.

 _'Anything for you.'_

Thinking that, he opened the small glass flask and poured the liquid inside the tub.

He wanted to bitch slap the fucker.

 _'The things I need to do for you.'_

The reddish water was now a striking blue.

It was ready.

Lyon got up and got rid of his jacket before stepping inside the water himself. Immediately the tingling sensation attacked his veins, the power of the Silverling-Delphiniums.

With a small smile, he laid down beside the other, entwining their fingers together.

"Wake up soon, idiot."

And his head soon followed his body and into the water.

He could feel his heart beat slowing, yet he wasn't panicking. It was simply trying to match its beats with the other's already silent ones.

One of his eyes felt itchy, a sort of an annoying tingling. He smiled knowingly the flower was simply doing its work.

His heart beat was now merely a dull thrum somewhere inside his heavy and useless body.

But soon a second beat joined. Then a third, a fourth, a fifth…

He wasn't even able to register the fact until he felt something else, something that made him want to dance in joy.

The pale hand had twitched lightly in his grasp. The dead heart had once again started beating.

Gray had come alive.

 ** _~19:00 hrs.~_**

 ** _~Natsu's place~_**

Natsu stared at the note dumbly, like he had been for the past 2 hours.

The only thing that registered in his mind from that was that those shitty Scorpions had taken his father.

And it was his damned fault.

He should have known that there were CCTV cams in the bloody bank he had decided to rob. They had recognized his hair even through his mask.

"Bloody hell…"

He threw all the money on the empty bed.

It was all the money's fault.

His father was dead.

He was no longer here with him.

It was all the bloody money's fault, those damned Scorpions' fault.

Without thinking much, with a lighter he lighted the bunch on fire.

He was gonna burn those Scorpions just like this.

Sweat mixed with tears trickled down from his face and onto the floor.

The whole room was now engulfed in flames.

He didn't care.

Swiftly he took out a small vial filled with the pale blue liquid and gulped it down.

The effect was instant.

All his mental pain was gone.

He felt feather light, as if he was on the top of the world.

He giggled sluggishly, "Scorpions are gonna burn, gonna burn, burn, _BURN!"_

 ** _~20:05 hrs.~_**

 ** _~Gray's place~_**

His eyes felt heavy, way too heavy.

He wanted to keep them closed but something wasn't allowing him to.

" 'ak 'p!"

 _'Huh?'_

" 'ay! 'ke up!"

 _'Sting? What the hell is he doing in my mind!?'_

Someone was shaking him by his shoulders.

Smack!

Gray shot up immediately, his eyes wide open.

"GRAY YOU IDIOT! AARGH!"

With a battle cry a crying (?) Natsu lunged on him, immediately raining punches down on his already bruised skin.

"YAH! Natsu get off! He practically came alive just now!" Sting yelled, trying to stop the manic punching but it seemed as if he was thinking the raven head deserved it.

It was Jellal and Loke who finally got Natsu calm somewhat.

"What the fuck were you thinking!? YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"

Jellal smacked the screaming pink head lightly on his head, "shut up Natsu, he still isn't registering what you are saying," he reprimanded the pinkette before turning around and kneeling down to be at level with the still in daze suicidal prick. Flicking him lightly on the forehead he began, "You really shouldn't have done what you did Gray, you disappointed us,"

The other now seemed to be coming to his senses slowly.

"You could've told us, called us, just a small sign! We would've helped you. Did you already forget about the oath we used to take and still do? We are to support each other, when in need we are to rely on others! Do you not remember it?" Loke continued on from where Jellal left, whispering the last part lightly.

Gray couldn't face the others, not anymore. He had betrayed their trust, betrayed the clan.

His eyes wandered off towards the bathtub in the small bathroom, noticing the pale blue water filling and surrounding it.

"Lyon..?"

He swore he had heard the other's voice when a weird light had suddenly blindly him. The memory wasn't that clear because duh, he was supposed to be dead.

"Yeah?" a dry voice rasped from beside him and for the first time after coming alive Gray noticed that there was someone lying beside him.

"Woah!" he jumped in surprise, nearly tumbling down if not for Jellal's quick reflexes.

Lyon stared at him questioningly, raising a brow when the other nearly face planted on the floor.

"W-what happened to your eye?" Gray questioned, looking at the gauze wound around the other's eye topped with a pirate patch.

"Oh this," Lyon asked, touching the area, "nothing really, just the flower's side-effect."

"Side-effect?"

"He lost it," Sting began, "while trying to save you he lost it."

"Huh?"

.

.

.

"HUHH!?"

"No biggie dude! Especially since I always wanted to be a pirate, I think it's pretty cool. Like ya know, a battle scar or something?"

"WTF!? Are you damn crazy!?" Gray yelled, shaking the other by his shoulders.

Lyon glared at him, hard.

"Oh yeah, if I am damn crazy then what are you, huh?" he growled out, swatting away Gray's hands.

Gray was rendered speechless. He had no idea what to say in his defense.

"Look at me."

The other didn't.

"Gray, I said look. At. Me."

He still evaded eye-contact.

Well what could he do? He felt so horrible and guilty all of a sudden, especially since the others were boring holes into the back of his skull with their stares.

And the scary albino in front of him was no help either.

"I don't want to repeat myself."

He could practically feel the other's anger and he was scared. He had felt the same vibe before but from an entirely different person. And from what he had learnt from all those past experiences it was better to follow what the other demanded.

Gray finally looked up.

"You owe your life to me Gray, got the hell it!? You already lost your own by your damned foolishness, the one you are living now is because of ME, so you can't just go around doing stunts like that," the albino growled. Of course he knew it wasn't a good thing to do, to use the other's weakness but after what Gray had done, it at least needed a hard jab to his head.

"This life is mine, you can't decidedly end it yourself again or am gonna bring you back alive again and again and again until it gets through damn thick skull that you are not damn ALONE!"

"Understood?"

.

.

.

"UNDERSTOOD!?"

"Y-yes!"

"Good," Lyon faced the blondie of their group, "Sting, take him to the under bridge and make sure this brat sleeps like a good brat."

Sting, startled by the sudden address chirped a small 'Yes sir!' before dragging the mentioned raven with him.

Once the two were out, Jellal finally decided to speak up.

"Wow, never knew you could have that effect on him."

Lyon sighed tiredly before sitting down on a still intact table, "I saw how his father used to treat him, learned a few things and now keeping him in line is quite easy."

"Oh."

 ** _~21:05 hrs.~_**

 ** _~Sting and Gray~_**

Silence.

It was deafening.

Sting decided to break it, he couldn't bear it anymore.

"Gray?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you do it?" he questioned cautiously. He knew after what the other had experienced, had done, questioning him things like that was borderline dangerous, but he was curious. And worried.

Gray clearly heard the tremor in the other's voice.

"Because I was tired," he replied in a matter-of-factly voice.

"Why didn't you tell us? Tell me?"

"You all would've beaten me up like Natsu did."

"But you still got beaten, ne? On the top of it, Lyon lost his eye and…"

"And what?"

Sting sighed tiredly before continuing in a small voice, "I don't think I can trust you anymore with your life…I don't think anyone of us can…"

Silence engulfed them once again.

Gray sighed, looking up at the bleak sky and began with a slight chuckle, "you know what's funny…"

"Hmm?"

"I don't think even I can trust myself anymore…"

 **TBC**

 **Hello peeps! Such a loooong time, ne? Wellll I got held up in holiday assignments and now my family is planning a 4 day trip to Maaaannnaaalllliiiii! Yaay! (Well yaay for a tourism deprived girl like me at least~)**

 **Hope you liked this chappie! (Although I do feel it's kinda weird and not came out as what I thought but…meh, blame on all the geography books!)**

 **Aaand well if any of you have seen the MV (I know only one wise saint by the name of Xanette Life who actually did it…High-five fellow Monbebe!), there wasn't any particular aftermath of Minhyuk reviving Hyungwon so weelll…I did it! (Although in the MV Minhyuk didn't lose his eye or anything but it was bugging that how come he was able to bring a long-dead guy back to life without any kind of payment or something? And at that time I was having a movie marathon with my sisses and Nick Fury came up. I noticed his eye-patch and decided that Lyon must lose his eye…so that's it…Lyon lost his eye!)**

 **Kindly review! I lluuuvvv them! (Well everyone loves some feedback~)**


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